Soup Season

Chicken Pozole

I feel like I write with the seasons, where my tastes fluctuate with how long the sun beats down on my face and if I’m wearing one layer or five. I have grand goals of elaborate meals, even bigger goals for other aspects of my life, and the ultimate true goal: not getting sick at all during this semester.

Right now, I’m thawing my fingers after a frigid 11 minute walk to a library that hasn’t discovered central heating and is ringing with the cacophony of sniffles and barely concealed coughs. I’m thinking about the soups I’ve made, from my tried and true lasagna soup to the lentil soup packed with vitamins and antioxidants needed to keep my immune system fighting another day. Every flavor melts deeper into each other as the days go on. Now, its day three and it’s somehow taken a life of its own, becoming a fuller and more impressive dish.

Dumpling soup

I like to think that I also get better each day as I settle into myself and who I’d like to be. With this blog, it started mainly as a creative outlet to combine two things I loved: food and writing. It’s been harder than I thought to really be creative. There was no great struggle within me about a deeper meaning behind my blog. I just wanted to write and post and blurt out my thoughts for anyone who cared to read. But I also want to share funny experiences, or things I’ve thinking about, and new information I’ve become deeply interested in.

Fortunately, this is (probably) not a wierd way of introducing a Substack page. Instead, I’d like to reframe this creative outlet as soup. Different components, separate but cohesive, and getting better each time. I had a friend who, when I first started this, suggested I do exactly what I’m doing now, almost two years laters. I’d like to think she saw electronicpastry for what it could have been, but a large part of it was her not wanting to read only about food.

I’ve thought a little bit about what I want this to look like. I still love talking about food and writing a few stories or reviews about it. The only difference is that i’d now like to share other aspects of me, from my travels, experiences, and maybe a few (less embarrassing) challenges I’ve faced.

I’d love for y’all to continue reading, even if it’s not till the end or if you skip to the end. My hope is for this blog to get better, and me alongside it. I want to challenge myself to do things differently. I experience so much and want to hold on those memories the best way I know how - writing. So now, electronicpastry is my journal extended, full of not only food, but the life and culture and experiences that have shaped me and the food I make and try.

Enjoy the pictures, enjoy the growth, and most of all, enjoy this soup season.

Cambodian chicken soup